


cygnus / albireo

by unhappyrefrain



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Caretaking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Sex, Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M, Mental Health Issues, look how much shu has grown, set 2-3 years in the future when valkyrie is on the pro circuit, the theme was "saving each other"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 12:52:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7508986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unhappyrefrain/pseuds/unhappyrefrain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>But the Kagehira Mika he knows would never pass by any thrown-away stuffed animal. Mika has always loved the broken things, always been good at piecing them back together, even with his messy needlework and clumsy hands, never quite perfect— but it doesn’t have to be perfect to be worthwhile, is what Mika has taught him.</p><p>He doesn’t have to be perfect. He just has to be here, right now, showing Mika his love in any way he can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	cygnus / albireo

**Author's Note:**

> this is part of my general "valkyrie stays together and goes pro" future au. this commission was only supposed to be 3k words but i fucked up and wrote too much so i didn't charge the commissioner for the extra BECAUSE WRITING IT WAS THE REAL REWARD. *inspirational glitter*
> 
> i'm in shumika hell enjoy

After the live, the world feels dizzy and surreal around him, and Shu can’t quite make a quick enough break for it to avoid the autograph rush. He’s stuck in front of the stage sighing and pushing people’s hands off him— _get your dirty fingers off my outfit, just looking at me is enough for the likes of you!—_ and all the while he’s worrying about Mika. He signs just a _few,_ enough to placate the most rambunctious of the fans, then turns sharply on his heel as security finally steps in to keep the crowd back from the hall to Valkyrie’s dressing room.

“Kagehira? That disgusting crowd held me back, do you need assistance with your dress? I—” He opens the door, calling out, and then feels his heart drop directly through his gut. Said dress is lying on the floor, Mika still wrapped in it, pale and weak and sweating and unconscious in all his finery.

Shu immediately feels his stomach heave, and his heart fluctuates in speed, and he rushes over to kneel at Mika’s side. “Oh, oh God, _Mika,_ are you—” He lifts Mika’s head, gathers him close to his chest; Mika is floppy, heavy in his arms, a doll with all its strings cut. The dress is dusty against the tile floor and Mika’s makeup is running, drops of sweat cutting lines through his foundation. Panicking, Shu strokes back Mika’s hair, reaches up onto the vanity for a sports drink, a bottle of water, _anything_ to bring him back to life.

The mismatched eyes crack open, and Mika’s voice is hoarse as he groans slightly, so thin that Shu’s body goes cold. “Oshi-san,” Mika slurs, unable to keep his eyelids from falling again, “‘m sorry, I messed up…”

“N-Nonsense, you did well, open your mouth I need you to drink—” He finds what he needs, and the water is _cold,_ their producer must have left it in here during the live. Lifting Mika’s sagging body up against his chest with a tired huff, he twists open the cap, making sure it’s at his side and not above Mika’s dress in case of spills, and tips Mika’s head back gently, opens his lips with a shaking thumb. He brings the bottle to Mika’s lips. “Drink, don’t choke, keep your mouth _open,_ there we go…”

Mika drinks, obediently, still half-conscious, but the way the water moves down his throat already looks like it’s restoring the little bits of life left in him. His eyes are half-lidded and fluttering, and Shu keeps his thumb on Mika’s lips in case he forgets to swallow. “Good, you’re being good,” Shu mumbles, heart still thundering in his chest, worrying that his hand will go unsteady on the bottle and spill all over the front of Mika’s dress, ruining it, ruining _him_. Under his breath he’s mouthing kind words that he can’t quite say out loud yet— _please take care of yourself more, I’m so sorry, it must have taken so much out of you, I love you and I need you to be healthy—_ and he wonders if Mika can tell how scared he is right now.

He lets Mika breathe, slow and stammering, gently nuzzling into his sweat-damp dark hair as Mika slumps against him. _You’re beautiful,_ he thinks, setting the bottle next to them still uncapped as he traces a line down the nape of Mika’s neck. _And I’ve caused this kind of suffering in your life._

“Oshi-s… Shu,” Mika finally gasps out, leaning his head back further into Shu’s swelling chest, looking up at him with that same adoration that always makes Shu weak. “‘M okay, just, so tired… can’t move.”

“Rest, idiot,” Shu says, his voice not cooperating, his mouth again disconnected from his mind. “Here, open your mouth, you need another drink, don’t you?” His thumb reaches around again, slowly pushing those soft lips apart, and Mika is finally able to lift his arm and bring the bottle to his lips, though not without Shu’s support, long fingers wrapping around his shaking hand to keep it stable.

Mika can’t quite swallow right, and closes his mouth before Shu is done, spilling a little of the water down the front of his dress. “Ahh, sorry, messed it up… All I do ’s…”

“Don’t _speak,_ ” Shu grimaces, listening to Mika’s self-hate slip out even here, “especially if it’s going to be lies like that. You were _wonderful._ A l-little mess isn’t going to do anything, it’s only water, and the dust— I can just get it dry-cleaned…”

Mika half-smiles up at him, eyelids weak and fluttering, and Shu can’t help the first tear that spills over, not when Mika is _looking_ at him like that. So trusting, so faithful, even as Shu has been nothing but a weight on his ankles, dragging him down, and it causes the open seams in him to come further apart.

“Yer cryin’,” Mika points out, reaches up very shakily to nudge Shu’s cheek, catching the tear on the back of one delicate finger. “Don’t gotta cry ‘bout somethin’ like me… I’m fine, ain’t I? Always am.”

“You’re _not_ fine,” Shu nearly snaps, but his voice is too tremulous to be intimidating, and in a way he’s glad for that. “You’ve overworked yourself and now you’ve _fainted,_ that’s not fine, take better _care_ of yourself…”

“So _bad_ at that, though,” Mika sighs, the half-laugh in his voice falling into a self-deprecating breath. “I’m a mess, ain’t I… Yer always doin’ so much for me, ‘m in your debt…”

“That’s not true, that’s not how it is,” Shu chokes, and the tears won’t _stop,_ the more he thinks about it the more his eyes blur and burn. “I owe everything… everything to you.” He needs to stop this before he breaks down again, before he ends up losing complete control, putting on this kind of pathetic display for Mika.

But Mika only looks at him, the way that makes Shu’s knees weak and chest tight, the way that makes him want to cry, and it takes almost all of his self-control not to burst into another round of tears; he has to make sure he takes care of Mika first. “Let’s get you cleaned up, shall we? You… you must be suffocating in that dress.”

“Mmhm,” Mika smiles, sapphire and topaz blinking happily, tears fading as they meet Shu’s eyes. “Hehe, Oshi-san's gonna take off my clothes~"

It wasn't as if he was thinking of it _that_ way before, he swears, but Shu's whole face flushes up to his ears as he realizes _what_ he just suggested. He sniffs, turns his head away from Mika’s curious, half-lidded gaze, in an attempt to preserve what’s left of his semblance of control. “I take off your clothes all the time, don’t be ridiculous. Don’t I have to dress you before lives? Well, I suppose it is hard to get into Valkyrie outfits by yourself…”

“Not how I meant it,” Mika giggles. Shu wonders how Mika can still be so _mischievous_ when he’s just recovered from fainting.

"Y-You ridiculous doll. If you're going to ask for it like that, I should properly take you home first, hm?" He huffs, locks his arms around Mika’s armpits and pulls him carefully to his feet. “Ah, take off those heels, I’ve brought flats to walk home in. Be _careful,_ ” Shu groans as Mika immediately leans down to adjust them and nearly falls over. “Sit, I’ll do it for you.”

He eases Mika down into the leather rococo chair facing the vanity, kneels at Mika’s feet to start loosening the straps. He winces at the red indents the heels have given Mika’s ankles and foot, the crossed lines ruining his pale perfect skin. “Honestly. Next time, make them a level looser, you’ll cut off your circulation.”

“Nnah… But if I don’t keep ‘em tight, I’ll twist my ankles…”

“Practice will fix that. These aren’t _ski boots,_ Mika, stability at all fits is key.” Shu hopes his tone isn’t too harsh; he’s _scolding_ Mika, sure, but only to make sure the blisters don’t get worse next time. Mika needs gentleness now, he needs comfort, and Shu suddenly feels a bit lost— Mademoiselle is sitting on her cushion at home, and even if she were here he’s busy taking care of Mika’s feet, finally undoing the complicated straps and tugging off the heels before massaging the imprints deep in his skin. It’s his fault he can’t be enough for Mika like this. Reassurance is always key, and he can never seem to spit it out when Mika needs it most, it’s always Mademoiselle who does it in his place and that’s not really _him._

More tears, rising to his eyes without permission, and Shu blinks them back, rubs desperately at his eyes to make sure he doesn’t start crying again. “I’m sorry,” he finally says, voice weak, teetering at the corner of falling— and there it goes, crystallized pain from behind his eyes finally pushing out.

“For what?” Mika looks down, genuinely questioning, and then notices Shu has started crying. “Ahh, don’ cry, did I do somethin’ wrong?”

“No, no, never you,” Shu says, shaking his head vehemently, more tears coming at the very idea that Mika could find a reason to blame it on himself. “I… It’s my fault. Let me… let me take you home first. I can, I can tell you, there.” If he doesn’t go through with this, if he doesn’t let Mika know, does he really deserve him?

He digs through the tote bag filled with their after-live supplies— a change of clothes, sports drinks, granola bars that both of them forget to eat— and pulls out the flats, easing them delicately onto Mika’s bruised-looking feet, his Cinderella with the glass slipper and the mismatched eyes. “Come now,” Shu says, sighing out another bout of tears and allowing Mika to lean on his shoulder as they both stand. He picks up the bag on the other shoulder. “You’re a mess, I’ll take care of you, just come home.”

“Mmhm,” Mika mumbles, pressing his face into Shu’s shoulder, and Shu can’t find it in him to scold Mika for getting his foundation on the burgundy-black fabric; slowly, they leave the dressing room, walk towards the back stagedoor and into the humid, fogging night.

 

* * *

 

Shu has to get Mika cleaned up first, but it takes a little while for the bath to run; Mika collapses, still in the sweaty, ruffle-crowded dress, directly onto the bed while Shu bustles around in the bathroom. He opens the door to call Mika in once it’s done, prodding Mika’s shoulder before sitting down on the bed next to him and running a hand through his hair.

“The bath is ready. Get up, we need to get you cleaned off, you’ll dirty the bed in that sweaty dress of yours,” Shu huffs, but he can’t help the tenderness in his hand as he pets Mika’s hair, still half-wet from the live and the walking home in such humid weather. “Come now, don’t be troublesome…”

Mika stirs, eyes blinking open and smiling once he feels Shu’s touch. His dimples crease— how _endearing_ his imperfection— and he butts his head up into Shu’s hand, breathing out little puffs of laughter. “Oshi-saaaan,” he sighs, letting Shu pull him to a sitting position.

“What, Mika.” Shu closes his eyes, starts unlacing the back of Mika’s dress. Mika takes in easier breaths once the back is loosened and open, and the prickle of cold air on his heated skin is somewhat revitalizing. Shu pulls down the puffed shoulders of the dress, standing Mika up and slipping it down his body, letting it puddle onto the floor around Mika’s ankles. Like this, he can see every toned surface of Mika’s back, the vulnerable nape of his neck, the worrying outlines of his ribs. He places his hands on Mika’s shoulders, turns him around to come face-to-face with that gaze.

"Shu," Mika breathes, the flat planes of his chest heaving as Shu looks him over, taking in every inch of him. He wants to savor this, he wants to look at Mika forever, study the way each of his muscles and tendons and bones connect, watch the way they build something so beautiful and flawed and human, so perfect in its imperfections. He _wants_ to, but alas, they both need to bathe, and Shu can do more of that in the tub anyway.

“I… got carried away,” he stammers, resting a hand on Mika’s collarbone and standing. “I’ll bathe you, so come with me.”

Mika nods happily, follows Shu onto the tile floor and strips his boxers, immediately easing himself into the clawfoot tub. Shu has to look away when Mika gets in, reaching around to the back of the ruffled, tight blouse and undoing the first and second buttons before yanking it quite unceremoniously over his head. _That’s not how you take it off, get it together,_ he scolds himself, but his back is aching and all his muscles feel stretched to the point of snapping. It’s only now setting in how _tired_ he is as well; he had been so worried over Mika’s condition that he had forgotten his own. But then again, he wasn’t the one fainting after the live, was he?

Shu removes the rest of the outfit, leaving it in a messy pile, too exhausted to even bother hanging it up. He slips into the tub next to Mika, who leans his wet cheek on Shu’s shoulder, sighing gently.

“Stop that, I need to wash your hair,” Shu mumbles, but he doesn’t shrug Mika’s head off. Mika obeys, though, dips his head under the water and comes back up with a little splutter, facing away as Shu works the shampoo into his newly wet hair. He can literally feel Mika _sliding_ down the tub, and he has to tug him up under one of his arms to keep Mika from actually melting. “Sit _up._ ”

“’S hard,” Mika pouts, nuzzles his head up into Shu’s hands. Everything is so warm— the steaming water, Mika’s skin slick against his, the contented little smiles Mika gives him, and Shu feels at peace once more. “Yer so gentle, I dunno if I can stay awake…”

“Were you not the one asking me to take your clothes off before?” Shu huffs, but he can’t help the way the corner of his mouth twitches upward, the way his eyes soften. “Stay awake, or I won’t be able to treat you further.”

“Nnah…” Mika makes the endearing, familiar sound Shu is so used to, and scoots himself up to meet Shu’s fingers in his hair. Shu combs the rest of the shampoo through Mika’s locks, pulls out the showerhead from its cord.

“Tilt your head back,” he murmurs, gently running the water over Mika’s head, making sure none of the suds get in those perfect eyes. “There we are… Conditioner next.”

“Don’ need it,” Mika groans, nudging his head back against Shu’s shoulder. “Wanna get out already, too hot…”

Ah. Right. Shu knows this; he gets weak in the heat as well, and especially after fainting, it can’t be good for Mika’s continued consciousness. “Fine, then. Up we go.” He stands weakly, swings his leg over the side of the tub and onto the bathroom carpet, then offers a hand for Mika to pull up with, keeping his body stable as Mika stands, breathing deeply in and out.

Yet again, he has to look away. Mika’s figure, stark against the half-darkened bathroom tile, is too much for Shu to handle, and he grabs two towels, shoves the other one bashfully into Mika’s arms.

“Thank ya kindly,” Mika smiles, leaning against the wall as he tries to towel off. “Uwah, I’m all shaky…”

“Must I do it for you?”

“Wouldn’t _mind,_ ” comes that sweet, mischievous voice from behind him.

Shu feels his ears going red again. _You always know just how to fluster me, don’t you?_ “Fine,” he concedes. “Let me dry off first, then, if I’m going to all this trouble.” Mika hums happily, leaning loose against the wall, and Shu wipes himself down hastily before wrapping the towel around his waist and approaching Mika.

“You’re dripping wet,” he points out unhelpfully.

“Uh, yeah.” Mika blinks at him.

 _What am I doing?_ Shu cannot _believe_ himself. He's standing right in front of a very wet, very naked Mika, with the opportunity to touch and kiss and hold, and all he's doing is standing still and commenting on the most obvious things, what is _wrong_ with him? Huffing impatiently, Shu takes Mika's towel from his hands, throws it around those thin, sculpted shoulders, and runs it down his back, his arms, the front of his chest. He reaches up to towel off Mika's sopping wet hair just to make sure it doesn't keep dripping, doesn't keep Mika from staying dry, and Mika giggles at the tousling, shaking his hair out somewhat like a dog after Shu finishes with his head.

"You're not a dog, stop that." Shu stoops down to run the towel over Mika's legs, and this time he lets himself look, since Mika can't see his flushed face-- his legs, shaved and toned, calf muscles visible in the light and shadow, looks up at the rest of him. He drags the towel up the front of Mika's body, brushing against his half-hard cock, wanting to touch already, pressing against Mika's back and wrapping his arms around those shoulders. The touch is so intense already, even with the layer of terry cloth between Shu’s hands and Mika’s skin, and Shu can barely _stand_ it. "...You're beautiful," he stammers, turning Mika around to look at him, less ashamed and hungrier this time.

Mika _finally_ blushes under Shu's gaze. "I dunno," he mumbles, hand bashful on the back of his neck, "I don't think I'm that beautiful, but... y'make me feel like it, really."

"You've never seen your own worth. Mika," Shu whispers, hands on his shoulders, running down his arms, the flat planes of his chest, the slight curves and bones of his hips, "I need you to understand."

"Understand what?"

Shu swallows, but then takes Mika's hand gently in his, leads him out of the bathroom and over to the bed. He sits, looking up at Mika still standing, waiting patiently for an answer. "How... how much you have _done_ , for me."

Mika's eyes soften, glisten with tears. Shu pulls him down into his lap, and moves in to kiss him. Lips soft and sweet, running his tongue over them, pulling him closer, closer until he's flush with Mika's chest. _More, more,_ he thinks, biting softly down on the corner of Mika's bottom lip, coaxing a little moan from that perfect mouth, _I need to touch you more._

"Shu," Mika gasps out, breaking from the kiss with a desperate breath.

"I mean it," Shu states, rolling them over, looking down now and over Mika's whole body. Like this he feels weak, even though he's supposed to be in control, watching Mika's chest rise and fall quickly, face red with heat and desire. He pulls the duvet over the both of them, for now. ”You _know_ , you-- you _saved_ me. I would have been alone."

" _I_ would've been alone," Mika replies, blinking back visible tears. "You took me in, y'gave me a home, I never... never had a place to belong, like this. You helped me get out, I couldn't live back there, I woulda died there if I'd stayed..."

"Even after I treated you so harshly," Shu lets his hand brush over Mika's cheeks, catching the tear that runs there, "you still... you stayed with me, you gave me a reason to keep trying. To keep _living_. I don't... I can't understand."

"Y'did the same for me. I couldn't let ya be alone. Couldn't possibly... let ya fade away like that." Mika gives a soft smile, lips wet and red, eyes glassy with tears. “You saved me from mine. Nobody deserves that kinda fate. Especially not you, Shu.”

This time, Shu can’t hold back the full-throated _sob_ that wrenches itself from his chest. Mika’s words jab at something tender inside of him; wasn’t it Mika that felt alone, when Shu was rotting away? He wasn’t kind enough, supportive enough, _there_ enough. When Shu was on the verge of giving up, locked away in his room, when he was ready to discard his life like an old, ragged toy—

But the Kagehira Mika he knows would never pass by any thrown-away stuffed animal. Mika has always loved the broken things, always been good at piecing them back together, even with his messy needlework and clumsy hands, never quite perfect— but it doesn’t have to be _perfect_ to be worthwhile, is what Mika has taught him.

 _He_ doesn’t have to be perfect. He just has to be here, right now, showing Mika his love in any way he can.

"I've loved you, this whole time. What an awful way to show it."

"Yer doin' just fine, showin' it now, yeah?" Mika murmurs. "So I think 's okay. Shu, jus’ touch me already."

Shu doesn’t wait a moment longer. He lurches forward, taking Mika’s face in his hands, capturing his lips; they taste of tears, and Shu cards one hand back through Mika’s hair, comforting, soothing. He can feel Mika smile against his mouth; even if it’s a weak, sorrowful smile, it’s _Mika,_ here for him, here _with_ him. Smiling for him.

Mika gasps into the kiss when Shu trails a hand down, running his fingers over the thin skin of his collarbone, the expanse of his chest. Shu separates from him, tilts Mika’s head back to leave kisses at the jump of his pulse— can’t mark, can’t bruise, _just this is enough for you to be mine_ — allows himself to feel the lines of Mika’s hips under his fingertips. Mika responds to every brush of Shu's hands, coming alive under his touch, skin flushed and breathing quick, waiting, wanting.

“Let me…” Shu flutters his hands, trying to find the words, failing, and just kissing at Mika’s collarbone instead. Mika seems to understand, though, the way he does most things; his legs spread, welcoming, inviting, and he blinks up at Shu with pleading eyes. “—Take care of you, come closer, Mika…”

Wordlessly, Mika sits up, reaches a hand down to palm at Shu’s cock— he’s already so hard and he hasn’t even _noticed_ , not with the tears on his face, the ache in his chest. Even the light, brushing touch makes Shu jump, dig his nails into the sheets. “I’m fine, d-don’t,” he manages, leaning over to the bedside table for the bottle of lotion he keeps there, both for these kinds of situations and because he’s just _fussy_ about moisturizing before bed. “If you touch me like that, I won’t be able to…”

“Fine, fine,” Mika breathes, falling back onto the bed, kicking off the duvet so that Shu can see him in full. And see him Shu does; he looks over Mika from above, skin prickling with heat, watching the rise and fall of his chest, the deep red blush over his face, the flushed length of his cock. Mika’s hands, clenching and unclenching in the sheets, twitching in the night air— Shu feels like he’s wanted this his whole life.

“Shu, _please,_ ” Mika finally begs, and Shu thinks he might die if he doesn’t get to be inside Mika right _now._ He coats his fingers with lotion and moves back over Mika, fingers circling, pressing at his entrance; Mika whines, moves himself down onto Shu’s hand, getting a few unsteady centimeters inside him before Shu can even think. “‘M all yours, don’ wait any longer, I can’t take it…”

The way Mika literally _whimpers_ has Shu’s skin prickling, and he can feel himself swelling even further. It’s not _fair_ when Mika is like this, all submissive and willing and sweet for him. He’s just so _much,_ so beautiful and needy and everything all at once, and Shu can barely handle it; he pushes, finally, one long finger into Mika, twisting it carefully down to the knuckle, listening to the way Mika moans and pleads for him, stretching him slow and gradual. Mika is opening up further, parting his legs as wide as they can go, as Shu works him open, letting Mika adjust to his first finger before adding a second. This time he curls them, searching, and Mika’s mouth drops open, the sound catching in his vocal cords before clawing its way out in a throaty, desperate groan. Shu’s whole body _throbs._

“Good, you’re so good,” he praises, letting Mika ride down onto his hand, curling and stretching and moving the way he knows Mika loves, this body he’s memorized perfectly. He’s measured it, dressed it, trained it, made love to it— with the exception of his hands, which are really the only part of him he trusts completely, he knows Mika better than he knows his own body. Shu scissors his fingers inside Mika, coaxes another torrent of moans from those full, blushed lips. “You’re— you’re perfect, you’re mine, Mika, I…”

“I’m yours,” Mika sighs, writhes down onto Shu’s hand, fingers moving up from the sheets to latch onto Shu’s bare, sweating back. “Yours, all yours… Need you, feels so good, Shu—”

The way Mika says his name snaps the last string of Shu’s good sense, and he shifts forwards, leaning over him as he aligns himself perfectly between Mika’s legs. He brings his head down to kiss Mika just as he gradually pushes his hips forward, sinking into that tight heat with a shivering groan, muffled into Mika’s mouth— Mika’s nails dig in, leaving little half-moons in pale skin, as Shu pants open-mouthed and nips at his bottom lip to distract himself from the pleasure that threatens to engulf him already.

Mika is shaking, gasping, twitching hot around Shu’s cock, wrenching his lips away and swallowing down hiccuping breaths into Shu’s shoulder, unable to stop the flow of wanton, desperate moans that leave him breathless. Just _hearing_ Mika has Shu on the edge, and he has to control his breathing, hold himself back long enough to let Mika adjust and give himself a chance. _Take care of him, make him feel it, don't give in so easily..._

“So good, you feel _so_ good, Mika, inside you—” He can’t stop the forward push of his hips this time, reaching deep into Mika, stretching him on the slick length, and Shu’s breath hitches and stammers. Mika’s legs, long and lanky, wrap around his waist, pulling himself in as far as he can, nestling close against Shu’s skin as his nails claw red tracks onto his sculpted shoulder blades. Shu holds Mika’s head, his arching back, cradling him as his hips draw back and then roll forward, each long, slow thrust drawing another choked moan from Mika’s throat. The way Mika's body writhes and pulses underneath him has Shu desperately pressing his lips to Mika's collarbone, burying his face in Mika's neck as he groans out his name, and he can't help it now-- he sucks a mark into the pale skin just under Mika's jaw, almost instantly regretting it (he's spoiled him, tarnished, _ruined_ him) but the way Mika responds, tightening and throbbing around him, letting out what sounds like a literal _wail_ of pleasure has Shu suddenly reconsidering. He nips again, experimentally, and Mika whimpers, his hands curling into the back of Shu's hair and tugging him closer. Shu's hands run down and grip Mika's hips, pulling them forward to let himself reach deeper, setting a new hurried momentum.

"Faster, Shu, feels-- good-- love you," Mika gasps, pawing at Shu's back, meeting every thrust with needy downward shoves. Shu raises his mouth from Mika's neck and closes in on his lips, letting Mika muffle his cries, even though no one is around to possibly hear them-- but Mika breaks before Shu really _wants_ to, throws his head back and _keens_ , as if he _wants_ people to hear, and the twist of heat Shu feels at that sound is just so much. Mika already looks as if he's falling apart, trembling and spilling moans from sweet, plush lips, just _soaring_.

Shu pulls back a bit, reaching between them for Mika's cock, carefully stroking to the speed of his hips, and Mika writhes, pressing his face into the pillow, unable to hide the way both his eyes shoot open to show all their colors and then squeeze closed. Mika is so vulnerable now, almost shameless in the pleasure that wraps both of them, tossing his head back and sighing Shu's name as reverent and desperate as a final prayer. And Shu realizes he's the only one Mika will ever trust enough to show this side of himself. Only Shu will ever see Mika like this, clutching and losing himself, dripping sweat and twitching and looking so perfectly, essentially _human_.

He can't possibly say it enough. Shu wonders if he can even say it at all, or if it's redundant in this kind of moment; his actions have always been the true voice of his feelings, after all, rather than words that have only served to mask and falter and hide. But the way Mika looks now, the way Mika is feeling, making _him_ feel-- it spills out of his mouth, only once, and it tastes like every truth he's ever held behind his teeth.

"I _love_ you,"

 

and Mika's fingernails dig in deeper, clutching at Shu like the last tree in a flood, as his hips thrust wanton into Shu's hand-- more friction, more sensation, and Mika is tightening, pulsing, his whole body going into convulsions as he clings close to Shu with every limb he can, moaning and quivering and spilling warm and slick into Shu's palm.

It's too much. Shu throws himself over Mika's body, gripping his slight hips for leverage as he loses control of the force of his thrusts, rutting helplessly deep into Mika for a few more blissful, blazing seconds before the tight, straining thread inside him finally snaps. "M-- _Mika_ ," he chokes, holding tight to the shivering body underneath him, as he fills Mika with everything he has, gulping down air between the repeated sighs of his name. He feels overstimulated, completely spent, scorching heat lingering in every inch of him like a sunburn, and Shu collapses down into Mika's arms.

His body still feels frantic, buzzing with too much feeling, so Shu pulls out with a halfhearted complaint from Mika, but doesn't move from where he's slumped over him, their bodies still intertwined. Speaking... would be too much right now, so instead Shu takes deep, shivering breaths, lets his lungs catch up to the thrill of his heart.

Mika weakly nuzzles up against Shu's cheek. "Shuuuu... y'took such good care of me, love you so much, mm..." His words are languid, dripping with fatigue, but it doesn't make the praise feel any fainter in Shu's mind, so he brushes a gentle kiss to Mika's ear (the only place he can really stand to reach right now) in place of an answer, and from the way Mika's face lights up in a slow, satisfied smile, Shu can tell Mika knows what he would have said, if he could put it into words.

"I dunno how to thank ya well enough," Mika pants, nosing into Shu's shoulder. "But y'called my name when no one else woulda noticed me. You gave me so much more than I ever coulda thought I could have. You _saved_ me, Shu," he says, the tremor in his voice tearful, but Shu knows it's joy that colors Mika's eyes rather than sadness now.

Shu just leans in, brushes his hand against Mika's cheek, pressing their foreheads together and thinking, as if somehow the contact could convey his thoughts:

 _You supported me however you could. You withstood all my harsh words. You were loyal to me. And when I was ready to disappear, when I had finally given up on the world, you reached out to me. You held on to me, you_ forgave _me._

 _You were the one that called my name._ You _were the one that saved_ me _._

But Shu knows, now. Both of these truths can exist alongside each other. He no longer has to discredit what he had done for Mika in order to accept what Mika gave him. He is growing, communicating better, he is healing. _They_ are healing. No longer the scarecrow and its corvid resident, but the swan whose wings cross the Milky Way, graceful and enveloping and reborn.

Draped in each other, together. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> "The title of the story in the Marionette event that is the start of Valkyrie/Itsuki's falling apart is "Swan Song." This phrase refers to the legend that a swan sings one, beautiful song in its lifetime-- which is right before it dies. On the other hand, it also refers to the last stage, performance, or battle of someone's life...
> 
> Above the Milky Way, swans spread their wings and fly. In other words, that swan which sang its final song and died, has spread its wings and flown once again. It is a story of resurrection.
> 
> In addition to this, the star that makes up the beak portion of the constellation Cygnus (the swan,) Albireo, is a double star... They were said to be similar to sapphire and topaz. A blue jewel and a yellow jewel. The same color as Mika's eyes." [(source)](https://twitter.com/yui_narita/status/753297569850150913)


End file.
